Portable house.



No. 630,908 Patented Aug. I5, I899. W. B. MERSHON &. J. M. MORLEY.

PORTABLE HOUSE.

(Application filed Mar. 17, 1899.)

2 Sheets-Sheet I,

(No Model.)

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Patented Aug. [5, I899.

W. B. MERSHDN & J. M. MORLEY.

PORTABLE HOUSE.

(Application filed Mar. 17, 1899.) (N M 2 Sheets-Sheet 2. I I f I 1 y 1 #6 z i 5 w A I -2 :7 v C C- C C a Z i l (1 a? I v I Z A? was WITNESSES.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM B. MERSHON AND JOHN M. MORLEY, OF SAGINAWV, MICHIGAN.

PORTABLE HOUSE.

s'rncIrIcA'rIoN forming part of Letters Patent No. 630,908, dated August 15, 1899 Application filed March 17, 1899. Serial No. 709,409. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, WILLIAM B. MERSHON and JOHN M. MORLEY, citizens of the United States, residing at Saginaw, in the county of Saginaw, State of Michigan, have invented certain new and usefulIm provements in Portable Houses; and we do declare the following to be a full, clear, and eXact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

This invention relates to portable houses of a character that can be transported in the knockdown and readily and quickly set up wherever desired; and it consists in the construction and arrangement of parts hereinafter fully set forth, and pointed out particularlyin the claims.

The object of the invention is to provide a portable house especially designed for sportsmen and camping purposes which is light and inexpensive and which is formed of interchangeable sections and in which thearrangement is such as to enable the house to be erected with the use of but a very small nu mber of screws and nails, and which when erected is so tight at all its joints as to ex elude rain and wind. This object is attained by the formation and association of parts illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a perspective view of a house embodying this invention. Fig. 2 is a horizontal section through three of the walls of the house above the sills, other parts being broken away, showing the manner of uniting the walls of the house at the corner as well as the sections forming said walls, and also showing the manner of supporting the joists upon the sills. Fig. 3 is an enlarged detail in section through the sills of the house, showing the manner of detachably supporting the opposite ends of the joists thereon. Fig. 4 is a vertical transverse section through the house, parts being broken away. Fig. 5 is a longitudinal section in detail through a number of the sections comprising the roof. Fig. 6 is an inverted plan of one of the roof-sections.

Fig. 7 is an elevation of one of the sections of the walls of the house. Fig.8 is an enlarged horizontal section through a corner of the house. Fig. 9 is a detail in transverse section through one of the edges of the wall-sections. Fig. 10 is a perspective of the iron loop-stirrup which serves to support the end of the joist.

Referring to the letters of reference, A designates the sills of the house, which may be of any suitable size and whose ends are jointed at the corners and united by large wooden screws to. (Shown in Fig. 4c.) The sills on opposite sides of the house which support the joist B are provided with inclined apertures at suitable intervals to receive the hooked bent ends of the iron stirrups b, which are inserted therein and serve as supports for the opposite ends of the joists, which are dropped into said stirrups and are thereby securely retained in place, the stirrups lying in notches in the under edges of the joist, whereby the ends of the joist are held firmly against the sills when weight is placed upon the floor, as clearly shown in Figs. 2 and 3, the construction rendering the joist readily removable when desired.

The sills in their upper edges are provided with a groove adapted to receive the lower ends of the cleats which extend below the lower edges of the sections 0, comprising the walls of the house. vided at one of their vertical edges with the opposed cleats d, which are secured to the These sections 0 are pro- 7 opposite faces thereof so as to project be- I yond the edge of said section, forming a way d (see Fig. 9) between their opposed projecting faces adapted to receive the edge of the opposed section of the wall, as shown in Fig. 2. These wall-sections O are composed of a series of strips which are united by a tongue-and-groove joint, so as to render them perfectly tight. The cleats d, projecting from one edge of said sections O,and the cleats cl", secured to the opposite sides thereof, near the other edge, extend below the lower end thereof, forming projecting tongues 0, while at the top the end of said sections projects beyond said cleats, forming the tongue 0.

The projecting tongues c at the lower ends of the sections 0 of the wall, formed by the other suitable means, (not shown,) whereby each section of the roof is placed in position inner cleats of said sections, are set into the l groove in the upper face of the sills, as shown in Fig. 3, and said sections being united at their vertical edges by the overlapping cleats cl are securely retained together and in a vertical position. The sections 0, of which the walls of the house are formed, are all of the same size and are made interchangeable, so that any one section will fit into the place of any other, thereby greatly facilitating the erection of the wall of the house.

The meeting edges of the sections 0 of the house at the corners are provided with the abutting cleats d, as shown in Fig. 8, and are united by a rectangular corner-piece D, having a corner-post D secured in the angle thereof. This corner-post abuts against the end of the cleat d on one of said corner-sections andagainst the end of the other of said sections, while the pieces D of the corner lap onto the outer faces of the exterior cleats, making a strong corner which is wind and water proof and which makes a smooth close finish upon the inner side. The corner-pieces are retained in place by the screws (2, which pass therethroughinto the sections 0 of the wall.

The cap-rails E are provided with a groove in their under edges which receives the tongue 0' (see Fig. 4) on the upper edges of the sections of the wall. The meeting ends of the cap-rails are securedv together by bolts or the upperends of the sections of the walls are securely retained in place.

The gable ends Fof the house are made integral and are seated upon the cap-rails, so as to make a tight joint between said parts, being additionally secured by removable screws (shown by dotted lines a in Fig. 4) which pass downward through the corners of said gables into the cap-rail.

The roof is composed of a series of removable sections G, comprising a number of strips set together and secured by the transverse cleats f, as shown in Fig. 6. These roof-sections have upon one of their longitudinal edges a projecting battenstrip h, which is adapted to overlap the adjacent edge of the succeeding section, so that when the roof is formed all the joints between said sections are tightly closed. It will be seen on referring to Fig. 5 that the marginal edges of the strip forming the roof-sections are provided with a quarter-round bead which when the edges of said sections are placed together form a raised half-round bead adapted to lie in a conforming groove in the under edge of said battenrstrips which are placed over said joints, whereby a perfect closing of the joints between the roof-sections is effected. Each of the roof-sections is provided on its under face, near one edge, with a turn-button 2', which as may be turned across the joint to more s curely retain said sections in place.

The ridge-pole H is supported at its opposite ends in the gable ends of the house and in turn serves to support the upper ends of the roof-sections, which lie thereon, as shown in Fig. 4, said ridge-pole being channeled in its upper edge so as to receive the cleats f on the upper end of said roof-sections. Grossing the lower ends of the roof-sections is a rabbeted cleat g, which is adapted to engage in a groove in the cap-rails E, also shown in Fig. 4,whereby the roof-sections are more perfectly retained in place. The ridge-boards I are placed upon the ridge of the house over the joints between the upper edge of the roofsections to more securelyclose said joint.

The section of the wall comprising the door and its frame, as shown at J, is equal vinisize to the other sections of the wall of the house, so that said door may be placed intheend or in the side, as found convenient. The same is true of the window-sections, enablingthe windows to be placed at any point :in the house desired.

It will now be understood thatbymcans of the construction and arrangement of parts shown and described herein a portable house of simple and compact construction maybe produced which may be shipped in the knock down and readily and quickly set up at the point of destination, affording a warm, light, and perfect shelter for the occupant.

Having thus fully set forth this invention, what is claimed is 1. In a portable house, the combination with the sills, the walls of the house comprising interchangeable sections supported on saidsills, the gable ends supported on the end sections of the walls, the removable cap-rails upon the upper ends of the wall-sections, the ridgeapole supported by the gable ends, said ridge=pole and said cap-rails each having a groove in their upper edges, the removable roof-sections having projecting cleats on their under faces adapted to lie in the grooves in said cap-rails and ridge-pole to retain said roof-sections in place.

2. In a portable house, the combination of the interchangeable independent sections comprising the walls, said sections at the corners having abutting cleats, and the angular corner-pieces having a post in the angle thereof adapted to abut against the cleat of one and the end of the other of said wall-sections, the sides of said corner-pieces extending onto the outer faces of said cleats.

In testimony whereof we sign this specification in the presence of two witnesses.

WILLIAM B. MERSHON. JOHN M. MORLEY.

lVitnesses:

JoHN DoLBEED MERsHoN, J-onN JENNnss. 

